


Opaque Sensations

by machka



Series: Schmoop Bingo - Love Story (Brookemann) [15]
Category: Real Person Fiction, Tulsa Gangstas
Genre: Community: schmoop_bingo, F/M, Prompt Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-06-30
Updated: 2010-06-30
Packaged: 2017-10-20 03:46:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,467
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/208420
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/machka/pseuds/machka
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>'Make your having dinner out become The Event of the Night, instead of just the beginning.' - John Walters</p><p>When sight is lost, the other senses will definitely compensate.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Opaque Sensations

**Author's Note:**

> Co-authored by [cebhfhionnmabon](http://cebhfhionnmabon.livejournal.com/profile).
> 
> Written for the [schmoop_bingo](http://schmoop-bingo.livejournal.com/profile/) challenge, using the prompt "Blind Date."
> 
> Disclaimer: The following is a work of fiction. The events described therein are not intended to represent actual events. No libel or defamation is intended in posting said fictitious work.
> 
> In other words, it's not real, because we made it all up.

Brooke dug through her jewelry box, looking for her little diamond studs. Finally finding them, she looked up in the mirror to slip them in, seeing Neal watching her from the bed. "You like what you see?" she teased, smiling as she turned around.

"Always," Neal agreed softly, smiling tenderly. He slipped off the bed and came over to Brooke, laying his hands gently on her hips. "You look beautiful," he murmured, brushing a light kiss to her lips. "Everybody's gonna be so fuckin' jealous of me t'night..."

Brooke leaned into the kiss with a soft smile. She raised her eyebrow at him and grinned, looking him up and down as well. "You clean up pretty well too..." She let her hands rest on his chest as she leaned in, kissing him softly. "And all the women are gong to be jealous that I have such a perfect man," she whispered.

Neal snorted softly, pressing his forehead to hers. "Well, that's a given..." he teased gently, grinning from ear to ear, and hugged her carefully, trying his best not to crush her new purple satin dress.

"So...tell me where we're going?" he murmured in her ear, flicking his tongue lightly across her earlobe.

Brooke shook her head. "Nope, it's a surprise - and no matter what, I will not tell you what it is," she teased. "I promise that you'll love it, though."

"Oh, okay..." Neal managed to make his voice sound as mopey as possible while still wearing a deep grin. "I trust you, I swear."

Brooke laughed, looking down at her watch. "Oh, we've got to get going! Our reservations are for eight."

"Guess that means you're driving..." Neal murmured, giving her another quick kiss before pulling back and grabbing his suit jacket off the nearby chair. "Lead on, lovely lady," he said with a sweeping bow, grinning up at her from under his bangs.

Brooke grinned and nodded. "Yup. Tonight, you get to let me do something special for you."

Neal chuckled lowly under his breath, his eyes twinkling. "I honestly can't wait."

Brooke smiled softly and pulled Neal against her. "I know. I can see it in your eyes. Let's go...and if you're good, I'll let you drive home," she teased.

Neal grinned and nodded, gripping Brooke's hands gently. "It's a deal."

Brooke paused on the front porch as Neal locked up, and then headed to the car and slipped into the driver's seat. She waited for Neal to get into the car and looked at him with a soft smile. "Radio's all yours tonight."

Neal grinned widely and punched his fist in the air in victory. "Kick ass!" he crowed, and flipped the radio on, finding a hard rock station immediately.

Brooke shook her head and pulled out of the driveway, heading for the restaurant. After all the time they had been together, there were more times than not she'd found herself singing along to whatever songs were on Neal's radio station.

Finally, after weaving through traffic, she made it to the restaurant and pulled into the parking lot.

Neal blinked slightly at the sign, and shot a glance over at Brooke. "Opaque?" he asked softly. "Never heard of it. What kind of food do they have here?"

Brooke grinned. "I think that food will be the last thing on your mind...but, I ordered our meal with filet mignon as the main course."

Neal grinned his approval. "You know me well, Ms. White...red meat is always a good bet for me." He unbuckled his seat belt and opened the door, sliding out of the car, and waited by the back bumper for her to lock up and come around to him.

He snaked his arm a bit possessively around Brooke's waist, tucking her in securely against his side as they walked to the door.

Brooke smiled and leaned into Neal as they walked into the restaurant. They waited in the lobby behind another couple until the host motioned them forward. She gave him her name for the reservations and threaded her hand into Neal's, holding it tight. "You ready for this?"

Neal tilted his head at Brooke curiously. "I'm always ready for food," he replied slowly. "Why do I get th' feelin' that there's somethin' important you're not tellin' me here?" He squeezed her hand back gently, to show he was teasing.

Brooke wiggled her eyebrows at him and laughed. "Cause there is. But I am not going to tell you anything more - it would ruin it for you."

Neal pulled out all the stops on his little-boy pout that usually got him what he wanted from everyone else...knowing full well that it didn't work on Brooke White, Super Nanny, but there was always a chance...

Brooke shook her head and smiled before she leaned in, kissing Neal softly. "Sorry, no can do...and you really don't have that much longer to wait," she said, just as the host motioned them toward the doors and to their waiter.

Neal got to his feet, helping Brooke to hers, a hand automatically palming the small of her back. "Can't wait t'see what th'big mystery is all about here..." he murmured into her ear. "Hope it lives up to all this secrecy." Smiling, he pressed a gentle kiss to her hair.

Brooke grinned and leaned into Neal's kiss. "It better, or I'm going to demand a refund," she teased.

He ducked his head and smiled, slipping his arm around her waist as they greeted their waiter.

Brooke smiled and held tight to Neal as they were led through a darkened hallway, into a dimly-lit room, with small booths and large round tables were placed strategically around the room. "Table or booth?" the waiter asked, and Brooke looked at Neal and grinned, leaving it up to him.

"Booth," he answered automatically, and then grinned down at Brooke. "...But we can still sit next to each other, right?"

Brooke laughed softly. "Of course!" she said, as the waiter led them to a booth in the corner of the room. She slid in first, and leaned in against Neal after he sat down. She grinned at him when the waiter handed them both blindfolds.

"Ten minutes, and lights are out. Enjoy your evening."

Neal took his blindfold and stared at it dumbly for a moment, before lifting his eyes to Brooke's face. "...Blindfolds?"

Brooke grinned. "Dining in the Dark."

Neal blinked. "...Um."

Brooke slipped the blindfold over Neal's head and smiled. "The restaurant is dark...no one can see each other, or what they are eating...the only ones that can see are the waiters, when they bring out the next course. It's all about your senses... "

"...Ah." Neal nodded slowly. "Without the sense of sight, all your other senses are heightened..."

Yeah, he had a little bit of experience with _that_ in his time... He'd just never had to worry about eating an actual meal in a blinded state.

Other things, well... _that_ kind of 'eating' generally wasn't considered dinner conversation.

Brooke raised her eyebrow at Neal. "You are thinking in the gutter," she teased.

Neal blushed hotly, chewing his lower lip. "Sorry! Sorry...you know where my mind always goes..."

Brooke leaned in and kissed him softly. "Later."

Neal grinned against her lips. "...Do we get t'keep these blindfolds?"

Brooke shrugged. "I don't know...you going to ask afterwards?"

His grin deepened wickedly. "...Maybe...or maybe I'll just take one anyway."

Brooke raised her eyebrows at Neal and grinned. "Hmmm...do you have plans to use them tonight?"

He shrugged slightly, schooling his face to innocence. "Maybe?"

Brooke tipped her head to the side. "Well...when you decide if we do or not...then, you can have one."

Neal grinned a bit wider than he actually should have. "Hot damn!" he murmured, and reached behind his head to tighten his knot.

Brooke watched as Neal slipped the blindfold down over his eyes with a gentle smile. She leaned in and started to kiss him softly. "Happy birthday."

Neal smiled against her lips again, responding slowly as he groped lightly for her waist. "...Love you..."

Brooke leaned into his hands. "Love you too..." she murmured, and then plunged herself into darkness. She quickly pulled the blindfold down over her own eyes and settled in next to Neal and waited for the first course of their dinner to arrive.

Without the benefit of sight, indeed, the other senses were thrown into sharper focus: the metallic tap and scrape of silverware against china, the quiet, intimate murmurs and soft, stray laughter of other patrons in the distance... The blend of scents of the entrees being cooked in the kitchen, a commingling of steak, bacon, fish, and vegetables, layered over with a hint of sweetness from the desserts that would follow...

"Good evening, sir...madam..." A low, smooth voice addressed them from the edge of the booth. "How are you this evening? My name is Alex, and I'll be serving you this evening...may I take your drink orders at this time?"

Neal cocked an ear toward Alex, and nodded. "I'll have whatever's on draft, please...Brooke?"

Brooke let her hand rest on Neal's thigh, trailing her fingers slowly upwards, a hint of laughter in her voice as she felt Neal tense and shift beneath her palm. "I'll have a lemonade, thank you."

"...All right," Alex murmured. "Our first course tonight is the salad course - we have a choice of the baby green salad, or the heirloom tomato salad. Sir?"

Neal laid his hand over Brooke's, squeezing lightly to refocus them both as he murmured to her. "Think we should get one of each, and share with each other?"

Brooke nodded. "Yeah, that sounds perfect." Tonight was going amazing...she just hoped that it was everything that it was supposed to be.

"Very good. I'll be right back with your drinks, and your first course," Alex replied, and the sounds of his steps faded gradually away.

Neal threaded his fingers through Brooke's, running his thumb lightly over hers. "Where did you find this place?" he asked.

Brooke bit her lip at the feel of the soft touch from Neal's thumb. "Online. I was looking for places that were close to us...I found this place, and I called. "

"It's certainly different," Neal murmured, with warm undertones of affection evident in his voice. He raised their joined hands gently to his lips, kissing her hand softly.

Brooke let out a soft sigh and grinned, even though Neal couldn't see it. "So...tell me what you have planned for these blindfolds tonight."

Neal chuckled lowly, his breath caressing the back of her hand warmly. "...Nuh-uh...it's a secret..." he murmured, untangling their hands and holding hers in his palm, pressing slow kisses up the back of her hand to her fingertips.

Brooke leaned into Neal and let her head rest on his shoulder. "Okay...I'll let you by on that one, since I did the same thing to you."

"Damn right..." Neal murmured, with an undercurrent of laughter in his voice. He turned her hand over in his own, brushing his lips lightly over her palm, tracing light designs with the tip of his tongue.

Brooke shivered at the light tickling sensations. "Feels good...I'm glad that it's all dark..." she whispered.

"Really?" Neal murmured, his voice heavier with amusement now. "...And why would that be...?" He cupped her hand to his mouth, and slipped the tip of his tongue suggestively into the seam between her index and middle fingers, his lips curving up into a smile against her other fingers.

Brooke felt her body flush as the blatant non-verbal suggestion. "So you can't see how much I blush," she said softly.

Neal chuckled low in his throat, leaning his head against hers. "...I can feel it in your cheeks..." he whispered softly, pressing his cheek to the heat from hers.

Soft footsteps approached their booth again. "Sir, your beer..." Alex murmured, setting the glass on the table in front of Neal. "...And your lemonade, madam...and your salads..." The sounds of plates being set on the table before them reached their ears. "May I have one of your hands, each of you?" Alex requested.

Neal gripped Brooke's hand a little tighter and held them up for him, feeling their waiter's hands grip them and pull their hands apart gently, guiding each of their hands to their drinks and then to their salad plates. "There you are..." Alex murmured. "There are forks to the left of your plates, but most of our patrons forego them in favor of fingers - much more sensual that way..." Soft laughter, and then a parting, "Enjoy your salads..." and fading footsteps once again.

Brooke let her hand slide gently on the table top until she reached her glass. She slowly brought it to her lips and took a sip, puckering her lips and scrunching her nose from the sugary tartness of it. "Oh wow...that is really good lemonade!"

Slowly, she slipped the glass back to its original spot on the table, and then felt for her fork. "Eating a salad, with a fork, in the dark, is going to be a bit more difficult."

Then she bit her lip and grinned mischievously, silently slipping off her heels. Why not take advantage of the enforced darkness? Stealthily, she nudged her leg around the back of Neal's, wrapping her foot around his calf, stroking gently.

Shivering, Neal grinned to himself, exhaling a soft breath. Really, now, Ms. White... He scooted his foot slowly forward, giving her more room to work, and brought his hand back to his beer mug, the scent of hops drifting up to his nose as he raised the mug to his lips. Taking a small sip, he made an appreciative noise as the slightly-sour taste filled his mouth. "Beer's good, too..." he murmured, setting the mug down out of the way and feeling his way to his salad plate. Decadent is as decadent does...

With that thought, he pinched some of the greens off the top, carefully sampling what he'd been given. Wow...some kind of tang in the greens...there was cheese, and basil...and a hint of...salt?

Brooke felt Neal shift his leg and laughed softly. "I hear you crunching... Did you manage the fork, then?"

Neal swallowed and laughed softly. "Nope. Just using th'five tines the good Goddess gave me." He pinched a little more of the greens from the top of his salad, along with some of the cheese, what felt like a thin slice of meat, and something that smelled like...melon? Some kind of sweet fruit, certainly... Reaching over with his free hand, guiding himself by the location of her voice, Neal gently cupped her cheek and turned her head toward him. He lifted the salad to her lips, brushing the mixture of greens lightly against them for her to open her mouth and take them.

Brooke laughed softly as the food tickled her lips. She opened her mouth and took the offered food, her lips brushing softly against Neal's fingers. "Mmm...That's really good," she whispered, her face flushed.

Neal made an involuntary sound deep in his throat as Brooke's lips brushed his finger tips. "...Yeah, it really is..." he said softly, his voice suddenly hoarse. "How's yours...?"

Brooke felt for her plate, her fingertips brushing over the leaves. She carefully rolled a couple together with what she thought was a tomato, and let her free hand slide up Neal's arm and neck, brushing her thumb over his bottom lip. She brought her other hand up and repeated the same thing, only brushing the food against his lip instead.

"You tell me," she whispered. How in the world eating salad had ever gotten so...sensual, she'd never know...but it was perfect.

Neal opened his mouth and leaned forward, gently closing his lips around Brooke's fingers before slowly retreating again, taking the food from her hand. He chewed carefully, savoring the combination of flavors in his mouth, before swallowing with a smile. "That's really good, too."

Brooke's breath was gone when she felt Neal's mouth slipping over her fingers as he pulled back. She reached down to her plate and picked up a bit of rolled salad for herself, moaning softly when the flavor exploded in her mouth. "Oh wow...we are going to have to try this at home," she said, already thinking about how they could.

"...Ever see that movie '9 1/2 Weeks'?" Neal chuckled softly, taking another sip of his beer. "It's completely do-able..."

Brooke shook her head. "Can't say that I have... What is it about?" she asked as she scooped up another bit of salad. "Another bite?"

"Sure," Neal murmured, turning toward her voice, resting his hand lightly on her thigh, caressing gently. "It's about this girl...gets into this, uh, 'advanced relationship' with a guy...there's this big scene with a blindfold and him feedin' her from the fridge..."

Brooke lifted the bite to his mouth again. "An 'advanced relationship'?"

Neal opened his mouth obediently, taking the morsel from her fingers with the same attentive care as before, only this time swiping his tongue lightly along the underside of her fingers.

"...Right..." he said softly, after chewing and swallowing. "Think...me and Kira, reversed...sort of..."

Brooke hmmm'd under her breath as she thought about it. "Okay... Anything else that happens in the movie?"

"This guy, um...takes care of her..." Neal fumbled slightly for words, feeling his face flush slowly. "...There's...um...spanking with a hairbrush, I think...or maybe that was the book...um..."

It had been a long time since he'd been this flustered around Brooke. He made a mental note to not bring up erotic movies at the dinner table unless they were actively watching them.

Brooke flushed hot and took a sip of her lemonade. "Maybe that should be a movie that we sit down and watch on movie night then," she said shyly.

"Yeah, I think that would be a great idea..." Neal rumbled softly, smiling to himself. He could just picture the look on Brooke's face... "Maybe we could have a triple feature movie night...'9 1/2 Weeks,' 'Blue Velvet,' and 'Secretary'..."

The same soft tread approached their table, and Alex's voice purred through the air again. "How are your salads?"

Neal murmured approval, and Alex made a satisfied sound. "Very good. Are you ready for the main course, or shall I wait a few more minutes?"

Brooke tipped her head to the side. "They were amazing...but I think that we're ready for our main courses. "

"Very good, madam...let me clear the plates here, and I will return with the filet mignon..." Alex replied, and they both heard the soft *clink* of plates being stacked. "I'll be right back," Alex murmured, and retreated.

"...Filet mignon..." Neal very nearly moaned under his breath, his stomach rumbling and mouth watering immediately at the very thought of the succulent meat and salty bacon... "God, can you imagine how that's going to taste?"

Brooke smiled and leaned against Neal. "I think that it's going to be amazing. How do you like your birthday present?"

Neal looped his arm around Brooke's shoulder, rubbing her arm slowly and gently as he pressed a soft kiss to her hair. "I love it," he murmured, nuzzling it gently as the scent of her perfume drifted up to his nose from her skin. "Thank you so much for this, Brooke."

Brooke let out a sigh of relief. "You are more than welcome. So...after the main course...I think that we should take home the dessert."

Neal let his hand slip off her arm to brush softly across the front of her dress, lingering on the satiny fabric and the firm flesh beneath his palm.

"Yeah..." he breathed out softly, his voice noticeably rougher. "Dunno if I'll be able to keep this PG-rated if the mignon and the dessert are as good as the salads..."

Brooke swallowed hard. "Well, we'll just have to pick up with it when we get home, then," she whispered, leaning in and nuzzling Neal's neck. Her hand found his thigh again, and began another ascent to cup him gently, feeling his pulse racing beneath her lips against his skin.

Neal brought his free hand up to cradle Brooke's face, running his thumb lightly over the arch of her cheekbone. "...Sounds like the best plan in the world..." he murmured softly, tipping her head back slightly, kissing his way almost delicately along her cheek to her mouth.

Brooke leaned into Neal's hand and let out a soft breath as he made it to her mouth. "I can't wait..." she whispered.


End file.
